Chapter 27

Episode 27

Crackle, crackle. In the huge dining room left alone, the fireplace blazed and the sound of wood burning was heard.

How long should I live like this?

The Duke was scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but it was obvious that his presence would make her feel more uncomfortable, let alone help. Chloe pondered for a moment whether the Duke or his mother would be more difficult for her to deal with. She stared intently at the dried meat on the plate and the cooled vegetables, and muttered, poking a fork into the pigeon beans.

“Both of them are hopeless.”

The people of Tisse seemed to have an outstanding talent in making others uncomfortable. Both Duke Tisse, who pushes people with obvious intentions, and his mother, who forgets what she just said as if flipping her palm, are the kind of people that Chloe finds difficult to deal with.

Chloe shook her head to shake off her thoughts, then regained her composure and concentrated on eating.  It was when she thought that holding on was the best defense she could have and sliced through the tough meat with all her might.

Bang. The heavy door opened and the candle on the table swayed at the sudden gust of the wind. The embarrassed maid urgently spoke to her.

“Little Madame, we received a  message saying that the Duke has arrived. Come on, get ready….”

The moment Chloe, who was holding a fork and a knife as if fighting a large piece of meat in front of her, gathered her eyebrows in the middle of her forehead, a man one head larger than the maid came into her view.

“Long time no see.”

When the maid walked away, startled, Chloe could now clearly see Damien. Unmelted snow fell from the collar of the black coat.

“Wife.”

“Duke.”

As soon as Chloe, who belatedly came to her senses, jumped up from her seat, Priscilla’s surprised voice followed.

“Damien, my son. What’s going on without a message? I heard you weren’t arriving until tomorrow afternoon.”

Priscilla was not prepared for the sudden appearance of her son.  Damien smiled as he lightly hugged her, who was in her indoor clothes.

“I came a day earlier because I missed my mother.”

“Oh my, stop saying such frivolous words.”

As she waved her hand, Priscilla’s face was full of a bright, lily-like smile.

“I’m hungry because I came here in a hurry, but I want to eat first.”

“Of course, that’s understandable. My son, wasn’t it hard to come here?”

“Not at all. I probably drank all the alcohol in first-class..”

“Hahaha.”

Chloe’s neat eyebrows, seeing Damien joking with Priscilla, gathered a little more in the center. At a glance, they looked very close to each other.

Of course, she already knew that Mrs. Tisse loved her son terribly. However, Chloe, like any well-educated gentleman in any family, felt some betrayal from the Duke who treated his mother so normally and affectionately.

I can’t believe a person who knows how to smile so kindly can be so dark inside!

“Tell Mrs. Dutton to prepare the food.  Hurry up with the Duke’s favorite dishes.”

“No. I think there’s enough food already, so just bring another set of dishes.”

The moment the duke ordered the servant, a momentary silence flowed in the red dining room. While all the servants were watching, Priscilla hurriedly broke the silence.

“S-son. This table is not ready yet.”

“No way. The duchess appears to be eating already.”

Priscilla had no time to make excuses when she saw the lame table. The duke sat at the end of the long table, which seemed to take ten steps to walk from end to end, and clicked his tongue toward Priscilla.

“Mother, please sit down too.”

“Damien, I wasn’t going to eat dinner because I had no appetite.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to skip meals?”

Damien shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“You don’t know how much I care about your health. Come on.”

Priscilla could no longer speak and was forced to sit next to the Duke. When the servant, whose face turned gray, brought out two sets of tableware, the meal began with a strange atmosphere.

“Wife, did you feel any discomfort while I was away?”

The Duke took the food in the center and opened his mouth to Chloe.

“No. Not at all.”

“Really?”

The stuffed head of the beast on the wall behind the duke and the two shotguns that intersect around it went well with him as if they were one body. Chloe swallowed a dry saliva, feeling that it was a sight that could tell anyone who the owner of this castle was.

“Everyone is so kind that I’m comfortable….”

“Damn it.”

Chloe was speechless. This was because Damien, who was cutting and chewing meat attached to the bone, threw away the knife. Chloe froze on the spot.

“Call the doctor.”

“What?”

“Do you want me to say it twice?”

When the servant took a couple of steps back in surprise, Priscilla opened her eyes wide and asked him.

“What’s going on, Damien?  Why are you calling for Mr. Brown all of a sudden at this time of night?”

“As Tisse’s doctor, he didn’t take good care of my mother’s health, so I am going to call him and kill him right now.”

“Son, I’m fine! What are you talking about!”

Priscilla strongly denied and shook her hand, but Damien’s face only became more and more serious.

“I can’t believe my mother ate this kind of food and didn’t complain. Is it possible without having any serious problems with your sense of taste?”

After Damien wiped his mouth with a napkin, he got up roughly and picked up a shotgun hanging from the wall of the table. Priscilla got up abruptly, her face turning pale, and she could barely speak. Her index finger that was lifted trembled.

“There is nothing wrong with my sense of taste, Damien.  Put that gun down unless you plan to catch an innocent person.”

“Is that true?”

The Duke asked with a clear voice as if to confirm by looking at his mother.

“Does mother know that this meat is ignorantly tough, the vegetables have dried up, the soup has been made a day or two earlier, and the wine of this low-quality has never been on the Tisse’s table in her life?”

The Duke’s expression was careful. Regardless of everything else, Chloe was so surprised that the shotgun hanging on the wall was not just a decoration but could be used right away, that she was frozen speechless. Of course, she wasn’t the only one surprised by the duke’s folly.

“Y-yes. Damien, I don’t know what’s wrong with the table.”

“Bring Mrs. Dutton.”

Finally, at Damien’s command to call the chef, Priscilla closed her eyes tightly and opened her eyes.  Even to her, the table was shabby enough to make Damien angry.

After Eliza’s infidelity was revealed, Priscilla deliberately turned away from Chloe. The servants who followed Eliza were initially displeased with the new Duchess, and the mood worsened when rumors spread that Eliza and the stable keeper would be fired because of her.

She never would have imagined that the result of knowing the conflict and pretending not to know would lead to such a tragedy..

“Were you looking for me, Master?”

Mrs. Dutton, the chef who was called for, looked like she didn’t understand anything. The duke gestured towards her as he motioned to the food on the table.

“Put it in the fireplace, the whole plate. Everything.”

Mrs. Dutton followed his order without hesitation. The shabby food on the expensive silver tableware went into the large fireplace.

“Why is the cooking like this?”

“I just don’t understand why the food to be sent to the poorhouse is here.”

“Poorhouse?”

Damien’s eyes shone sharply at the words of food to be sent to the vagrants and addicts on the street.  Mrs. Dutton still looked at him with a look of injustice, and the servants serving food couldn’t even look into his eyes.

“I-I have sinned to death!”

“Son, Damien.”

Priscilla tried to calm him down, but in vain.  Damien looked at the servants who were frozen like ice, and raised his lips crookedly.

“You dare ask to live after insulting Tisse?”

The servants fell on the floor in groups and bowed their heads. Among them, there was a young maid who shed tears in fear.

It has been days since she played pranks on the duchess’ table, but the duchess had not complained about anything.

They had deeply respected the maidservant, Eliza, who was strict but attentive to the servants. When she heard that the new duchess had falsely accused Eliza, she felt like she was taking out a studded stone with a rolled stone.

At first, she changed one or two foods lightly, but when the duchess was silent, she crossed the line without realizing it.

“Duke.”

The protagonist of the quiet voice was Chloe, who had been observing the situation without saying a word. Damien looked at Chloe, whose eyes were filled with fear and anxiety.

“Wife.”

“It’s just one meal. Please generously forgive the mistake of changing the food.”

Damien shook his head, facing Chloe, frowning as he looked at her.

No. No way, Chloe. Don’t try to overlook it.

“It was food for the needy.”

“Isn’t that what people eat anyway?”

“Don’t you know that meals are a place to confirm the honor and wealth given to us as nobles?”

“It’s a shame, but I’ve never had that much honor and wealth, so I didn’t feel unhappy or strange about this meal.”

Chloe looked straight into his eyes, trying to clear her trembling voice. As soon as he appeared, she felt uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to witness a mass death here.

“Really?”

“Yes, Duke. So, please, put your anger aside.”

“If the Duchess’s tastes are of such low quality, I think the problem is a little more serious.”

“I’m sorry.”

As she whispered, holding back her contempt, Damien slowly opened his mouth in a clear voice.

“I had definitely asked you, Wife. To fulfill the duty of the Duchess.”